


Tighter

by spiralicious



Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Community: fffc, Fluff and Angst, Froday Flash Fiction Challenge, January Special: Closure, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-31
Updated: 2019-01-31
Packaged: 2019-10-20 01:25:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 551
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17612810
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spiralicious/pseuds/spiralicious
Summary: John has finally found Ronon after months of being missing, but no one told Rodney alive or dead or in how many pieces.





	Tighter

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Vexed_Wench](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vexed_Wench/gifts).



Rodney faltered. He couldn't make his feet move past the doorway to the infirmary. He opened his mouth only to close it again with a slight tremble to his bottom lip. For quite possibly the first time ever, Rodney McKay had been rendered speechless. There was Ronon, standing there, live and in person after months of not knowing... anything. He was a bit scraped and bruised, but other than that he appeared to be fine. Well, aside from the fact that Sheppard was helping him stand, but he was alive and whole and more importantly he was there right before Rodney’s eyes. He had so much he wanted and needed to say it bottled up at the back of his throat and refused to come out.

John had promised to bring him back. He always promised to bring everyone back and he usually delivered. Sheppard was just determined and bullheaded that way. Rodney had no reason to doubt him. But every day with no sign, every planet checked, every apologetic shake of John's head from across the gate room had Rodney envisioning the worst. He never lost hope completely, but the not knowing drove him crazy.

Unfortunately, a crazy Rodney was a dangerous Rodney. Each hour with no news pushed him to be a little more reckless, to keep working on that much less sleep. There had been no major incidents, but a couple had come close enough Teyla had been volunteered to try to reason with him. It hadn’t helped anymore than John’s reassurances they wouldn’t stop trying.

Elizabeth grounding him from gate travel just made everything worse. He felt helpless and frustrated. He lashed out at everyone. One day, he even made Zelenka cry.

All of that was obliterated when he was called back from the mainland. He could barely breathe. His entire being focused on one single task; get back to Atlantis. He'd never flown a jumper so straight in his entire life. The only thing anyone had said was Sheppard brought Ronon back. No one said alive or dead or in how many pieces. His heart beat so hard and so fast he couldn't hear, he could barely see. Rodney bullied his way to the infirmary the moment his feet hit the ground. It was all a blur of people in his way until he got to the doorway he was running towards.

Then Ronon was finally in front of him and he couldn't speak. Rodney took a deep breath. “I... how have you been?”

It was stupid, he knew, but it was the only words he could make come out. He hated how his voice sounded. To his own ears, he sounded like an awkward teenage boy in a forced social situation. If the look Beckett shot him was any indication, it hadn't translated to the ears of others any better.

Rodney considered retreat, but Ronon unwrapped his arm from around Sheppard's shoulders and started hopping towards him. He grabbed Rodney and pulled him into a crushing hug.

“Shut up, McKay,” Ronon's voice rumbled tiredly next to Rodney’s ear. 

Rodney clung to him and buried his face in Ronon's chest. “Don't ever do that again.” His voice was somewhere between chastising and hysterical, even muffled against Ronon, and he didn't care.

Ronon just squeezed him tighter.


End file.
